Feb. 10, 2000

Box Score

CHICAGO - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball dropped a tough road game Thursday night at Loyola Chicago, 79-77, in the Joseph J. Gentile Center. The Panthers fall to 11-10 overall and 4-5 in the MCC, while the Ramblers end a three-game losing skid, standing 13-10 overall and 3-7 in the MCC.

The teams remained within just a few points of one another either way throughout most of the first half, with the Panthers going into the break with a single-point lead. The Ramblers took control early in the second half, building their lead to five points in less than two minutes. While the Panthers were able to tie it back up in the next three and a half minutes, they were not able to take back the lead the rest of the game. With the Ramblers leading by 10 points with just over two minutes left in the game-their largest lead of the game, the Panthers fought back to bring it within two points with only eight seconds left on the clock. After the Ramblers missed a pair of free throws, the Panthers were able to get off one last shot. But this time, it didn't fall and the Ramblers squeaked by the Panthers with a two-point win.

"We let it get out of hand," said UW-Milwaukee head coach Bo Ryan. "I liked the way we came back and had the chance to win. It just wasn't enough. We just weren't able to get that last one--but it would have been nice."

Overall, the Ramblers were tough on defense, beating the Panthers on the boards, 38-26. They hit 61.5 percent of their shots from the field, compared to the Panthers' 38.1 field goal percentage. The Panthers were solid again in their perimeter shooting, hitting a season-high 14 three-pointers and shooting an even 40 percent from behind the arc. The Ramblers were just 5-for-15 from the three-point (33.3%).

"I was really disappointed that we didn't stop the ball better and in our rotations," said Ryan. "We have to eliminate stretches when we get nothing. It just was not a good team effort of the offensive boards and we weren't getting the second shots.

Junior Chad Angeli (Wausau, Wis.) led the Panthers with 22 points and a team-high 7 rebounds, hitting 60 percent of his shots from the field and going 10-for-14 from the free-throw line. Freshman Clay Tucker (Lima, Ohio) followed with 17 points. Senior Shaun Fountain (Columbus, Ohio) had 11 points, 5 rebounds and four assists, with freshman Jason Frederick (Waukesha, Wis.) adding another 10 points.

Schinn Kerr led the Ramblers with 21 points, followed by Jerell Parker with 20 and David Bailey with 14.

The Panthers face the UIC Flames on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in the UIC Pavilion. They return home on Tuesday, Feb. 15, when they take a break from conference action to take on the Chicago State Cougars at 7 p.m. in the Klotsche Center.